Daycare dilemma

Senior Erin Fagg had to wait nearly 17 months before she could register her 3-year-old son in the daycare she wanted. \nA single mother majoring in psychology, Fagg already had little time for a job or a social life. So Fagg chose childcare for Kaiden Thomas while she attends class during the day.\nFagg said she wanted the best for Kaiden, but she wound up on a lengthy waiting list for one of IU's premier daycare centers. In the meantime, she enrolled Kaiden in an unlicensed center in Bloomington unaffiliated with the University.\n"I was very discouraged," Fagg said. "You want your child -- if you're not raising him -- in just as good of hands as you would take care of him."\nBut at IU, there aren't enough hands.\nUniversity childcare offers eight spaces licensed by the state for infants, creating a waitlist of about 65 families at the only center offering such service -- Campus View Child Care Center. Knee High daycare Cooperative, an unlicensed co-op, also tends to children as young as six months, but enrolls up to 14 families.\nA parent would have to sign up for infant care when she is pregnant -- if not before -- to ensure a spot at Campus View, said Tim Dunnuck, coordinator for child care services at IU.\nAnd the hands caring for Indiana's children are arguably not good enough. State childcare center regulations do not address 40 percent of the national standards that govern health and safety, according to a study by the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at IU in August 2000. \nWith health and safety not up to par, activists are working to improve them.\nChildcare providers from around the state will meet this summer to attempt to change state childcare regulations that haven't been rewritten since 1985.\n"It's my strong opinion that we don't have strong enough regulations for childcare," Dunnuck said.\n"The regulations for childcare givers are much less than they are for cosmetologists. Dog groomers have stronger regulations for their work than childcare providers, which doesn't make much sense. They also make more money, too."\nDunnuck said childcare givers at IU in particular should make more money. But in order for that to happen without the cost of childcare rising, the University would have to give more money to the childcare system.\nConvincing IU administration to do that will require additional meetings in the summer. Dunnuck said he will meet with Chancellor Sharon Brehm after spring commencement to discuss possible improvements for IU childcare.\nAn area of significant concern regards infant childcare. \nSpace isn't limited only to children under 12 months. IU's seven childcare programs offer full-time enrollment to 212 children on a campus of about 38,000 students, with additional room for part-time care. IU doesn't keep data on how many students have children.\nThe waitlists altogether hold 250 to 300 families per semester, although some families register on more than one waitlist, Dunnuck said.\nJane Barwood, director at Campus View, said about 65 families are waitlisted for 1-year-old care and about 75 for 2-year-old care.\nGraduate student Mohammad Alkhadhrawi, 36, placed his 8-week-old daughter, Layla, on the waiting list at Campus View six weeks ago. Sixty families are listed ahead of his. Because of the wait, Al-Khadhrawi's wife, Qadria, must stay home with Layla instead of attending IU graduate school. He said they had no idea as to when they'll get off the waitlist.\n"We hope by the beginning of the fall. Even part-time would be good because my daughter could be watched three to four hours a day, so my wife can go back for her master's," Alkhadhrawi said.\nBig money for littel people\nNot only is quality childcare sparse, it's pricey. \nInfant care in particular is expensive. If it weren't reduced to $163 per week for students, the care would cost $250 per week, Dunnuck said. The price runs high to pay teachers, one of whom must be present for every four infants, according to state childcare regulations.\nFagg said she's fortunate. State-funded vouchers have paid for her daycare expenses, which she said range up to $170 a week. The vouchers through the state's Child Care and Development Fund provide relief for low-income parents who work and/or attend school full-time. \nIU students use a third to half of the vouchers in Bloomington said Pete Giordano, director of Community and Family Resources Department for the City of Bloomington. The vouchers usually relieve most, if not all, of childcare expenses, he said.\nBut Pat Cole, research associate for the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at IU, said the vouchers don't guarantee reductions for quality childcare. Giordano said the city can help parents select a childcare center, but won't push a particular place.\nSenior Lena Hill, mother of 9-month-old daughter Alena, wasn't as lucky with the voucher system. She said she wasn't accepted to receive a voucher for seven months. She finally opted for a babysitter rather than daycare, saving about $100 per week. \n"She gets the one-on-one attention that she needs," Hill said. "The only problem that I have with her going to this lady is that when you go to the regular childcare, they keep you from, say, 8 to 5…I can't just drag her to the library. It's the length of time she's there. She's not there very long, maybe three or four hours a day."\nAlthough the cost for IU childcare can reach into the $100 range per week, IU's average prices for infants ($154), toddlers ($144) and preschoolers ($134) per week are the least expensive in the Big Ten, according to a 2002 survey by Penn State University. At IU centers, students get reduced rates, even compared to IU faculty and staff.\nDunnuck said he'd like to see Brehm's office and the general funds that finance IU childcare drop those prices even further. Part of the subsidy comes from 30 cents of the $58.87 student activity fee, a five-cent increase since 1999-2001. Seven Big Ten schools allot more financial aid than IU does for campus childcare, according to a 1999 survey by the University of Michigan. \nOften IU does not compare well to other Big Ten schools in terms of state appropriations, student fees and other income, said Maynard Thompson, Vice Chancellor and Dean for Budgetary Administration and Planning.\n"The Bloomington campus frequently does not compete with our peers with our resources," Thompson said. "A lot of people are pleased we can accomplish so much even though our resources aren't great."\nMore financial aid might go toward childcare, he said. Meetings will be held this summer about possibly increasing enrollment and variety of childcare programs. Thompson added that Brehm is committed to the campus representing a "family-friendly environment."\nDunnuck said an increase in aid would be necessary for additional infant and toddler care and increased teachers' salaries. He acknowledged the University has done a lot for childcare since 1996, when his position was created and 50 enrollment spots were added. Subsidy has increased from $30,000 in 1996 to $183,500 this year, he said.\nSafety first\nDunnuck's office holds IU childcare programs -- even the two co-ops that aren't licensed by the state -- to at least state licensing standards, which haven't been rewritten since 1985. Committees have met to write proposals for changing the rules, but have encountered backlash from childcare providers around the state who don't want to change and don't want to spend more money, Dunnuck said. He said he might join another committee to review the proposals, starting May 9.\nThe committee could change the rules by the end of the summer, avoiding a normally lengthy process because the proposals were already published in September, said Keith Carver, licensing manager for the Division of Family and Children in Family Social Services Administration in Indiana.\nThe most recent proposals weren't authorized last fall because childcare providers in South Bend and Michigan City areas complained they didn't have enough time to review them, Carver said.\nWhile the state regulations might be considered faulty, the IU centers are held to stricter standards, such as keeping teacher-child ratio small, Dunnuck said.\nCampus View, for example, employs three full-time teachers to care for eight infants, although state law requires only two teachers.\nDunnuck said he also encourages teachers to earn post-graduate degrees. Campus View and other IU centers employ students, many from the School of Education. The school conducts research and observation at Campus View, Barwood said. \nFour of IU's seven childcare programs are state licensed, meaning they follow rigorous regulations. Those four also employ professional staff, as does the before and after-school care program at Monroe County elementary schools. \nTwo programs -- Campus Children's Center and Campus View -- are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Hoosier Courts Cooperative Nursery School also is seeking national accreditation.\nBut a licensed center does not necessarily mean a safe center, Cole said, especially based on Indiana's 16-year-old regulations. \nDunnuck said parents should conduct extensive evaluations before selecting a program. They should visit the center and ask about accreditation and the staff's education and experience.\nAlkhadhrawi said he researched on the Internet, talked to providers and reviewed centers' curriculums and staffs before placing his 5-year-old daughter, Maria, on 15 to 20 waitlists. Maria remained on Campus Children's Center's waitlist for two and a half months after the family arrived in Bloomington from Saudi Arabia. \nBut Alkhadhrawi said he knows he made the right decision, especially after Sept. 11, when the staff treated him and Maria with respect and love. Maria also enjoys painting, playing educational computer games and reading at the center.\n"It's the place to be," Alkhadhrawi said. "I haven't met anyone there I'm not comfortable having my daughter around."\nThat was worth waiting two-and-a-half months for.